Gary turned 40 in 1964, and like every other man of his generation, his attention was captured that spring by the launch of the Ford Mustang. It was magical — the roar of that V8 driving 2,500 pounds of pure Americana, 271 horsepower, and a 4-speed manual transmission. He wanted it…
I wanted to start by sharing with you the tale of an idiot—an idiot who threw away everything: his education, his career, his home. An idiot who did so in spite of good counsel, stern admonition, and even full-throated rebuke. An idiot who pursued his own destruction with reckless abandon, somehow…
Opening Story I want to start this morning with a story about a single mom. She grew up in a small town, moved away to a big city in another country when she grew up, married a man, had a baby... then it all fell apart. Divorced, isolated, unemployed. She…
Opening Illustration & Setup Once upon a time in a land far, far away... The globe stands at the precipice of war. The world is watching, the people are holding their collective breath. One man, a power-hungry autocrat who thinks his nation has been cheated, wronged by the nations around…
Hook Anyone else remember writing “papers” in high school? I remember getting an assignment to write like 3 page or 5 pages on whatever-it-was and just sweating… like, how am I supposed to write so much!? This is insanity! No human being could accomplish this feat! Then I went to…
HOOK [Welcome everyone // Introduce yourself // Hand out Bibles] Who here is an introvert? [Raise hands] I, too, am an introvert, and if you are like me, you probably didn't raise your hand out of fear that someone might see you… and… want to talk to you about it—that's…
Hook Good morning, church! My name is Conrad, and I’m one of the pastors here. If you need a Bible throw your hand in the air and our of our Serve Team members will make sure you get one. Go ahead and turn to the book of Hebrews. And while…
[INTRO YOURSELF] [ANNOUNCEMENT: ONE SERVICE NEXT SUNDAY] [HAND OUT BIBLES] HOOK It might surprise you to learn that I was not a very good student in high school… that probably why I ended up in Bible College rather than a real school. Anyway, one class stood out above the others…
Hook Good morning all, my name is Conrad and I am one of the pastors here. If you need a Bible to follow along in our Bible study this morning, put your hands in the air and one of our ushers will make sure you get one. I have long…
HOOK [Introduce yourself, get a Bible, turn to Titus, Pastor Joel is sick] In 2005, a small, neglected painting was put up for auction in New Orleans. It was a modest piece—darkened with age, overpainted to the point of obscurity, and regarded as little more than an above-average attempt to…
Hook Intro / Joel / Bibles / Mark 3 Kids Klub Delivery Man Skit Ralph refused to believe that Joe Brown was who he said he was. {P} Insistent intentional ignorance Book (Mark 3:20–30, NKJV) 20 Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as…
Hook [Intro yourself. Hand out Bibles. Communion in coming.] I used to spend my summers in Toronto working with my father. He owned a roofing company, but did plenty of other general contracting work. One day he dropped my brother and I off at this old Italian lady’s place to…